Councillors have moved forward with plans for a new multi-million pound trolleybus scheme for Leeds - despite warnings the government may not support the proposals.

The New Generation Transport trolley bus scheme recently won the backing of regional transport chiefs, who hope that construction work could start in 2012. That will, however, rely on it also securing the government's backing.

NGT is a brand-new, 14km high-quality transport system that would transport people into Leeds city centre - see a video of it here.

New, fully accessible vehicles, which could be electrically powered, would use dedicated lanes and have priority at junctions on routes in South, East and North Leeds.

Councillors on yesterday's executive board agreed to submit a Transport and Works Act Order and associated planning and highways applications to the Secretary of State for Transport for the scheme, which is slated to fill the gap left by the collapse of the ill-fated Leeds Supertram project.

But council officers said that informal feedback from the Department for Transport (DfT) has been that while the north and south routes offered good value for money, the east Leeds one did not.

Council leader Andrew Carter said he feared the scheme could end up being another supertram, but added there was still a long way to go in the process.

"I am very concerned," he said. "We have seen it all before with the supertram.

"I think the Department for Transport should become known as the Department for Timewasting, they seem to be asking so many questions and constantly raise so many issues. No major transport scheme has been approved in the Yorkshire and Humber for three years, which shows what they think of this region."

Joint council leader Richard Brett echoed Carter's concerns about history being repeated.

Councillor Richard Lewis added: "I am disappointed about the noises coming back with regard to the East Leeds side. I sometimes wonder what they are thinking down there [in London]. All we can do today is move ahead with the full proposals and give them our support."

The council pledged to keep workign with the DfT on the scheme to ensure it received government support.

Last year, it was reported in the YEP how Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said he hoped that Leeds City Council and passenger transport body Metro would be successful with their plans to overhaul public transport in the city.Do you support the scheme? Does it offer good value for money? Post your comment in the section below!